Dispatch 13: Traveling

Life sometimes brings you the unexpected, and after a few weeks of falling into a routine I was in for an abrupt change. But I like to go with the flow.

Well, what else would you do if you got an opportunity to go someplace and rev up your training? And so I found myself on a plane last Thursday heading for Phuket.

I do some freelance writing work for a sports resort in Phuket, and they decided to bring me in for the week to work on the website for their Wellness Centre.

Aside from some really great sports training facilities which I’ve already discussed in great detail numerous times, T*** also has a center devoted to complementary health: nutrition, yoga, physiotherapy, and mind training. So off I went to explore this side of T***.

You’d think I’d start training up a storm being here, but I like to balance my professional duties with training so I decided not to bring my bike…

Which was just as well because I ended up sick. Just a scratchy throat and the beginnings of a runny nose, but to be sick as a dog alone in a foreign country is one of the worst travel nightmares I could think of. So I was glad I didn’t have the temptation of long bike rides, which are my favorite thing to do here. Thankfully the harder swim and run sessions are scheduled for later this week, so I had the weekend to sleep, recover, and if I started getting antsy for some exercise I could do some low-intensity stuff.

still swam, though! my favorite pool

core stability work gave me that endorphin hit

I didn’t really know I had a bug until I attempted to do a long run on Friday. Thankfully the route I took was clearly marked as part of a race that had taken place here last month, so after 10 kilometers of running winding roads through small Thai villages I was back at T***.

Looks like home, but the letters give it away!

I feel much better now, and after a trip to the pharmacy to score some Decolgen (they have it here, too!) I said goodbye to the runny nose.

Being at a sports resort is glorious for me, but then being around these tall, super-fit people with abs and visible muscles (some elite athletes training here at the moment) underscores that I don’t quite look like them. So I always have to bring it around back to the reason we should do things. It’s not because it makes us look impressive.

Although I’ve improved much in the last few years, I know I am never going to win a major race or even a world championship. But that doesn’t stop me from doing my best. We’ve all been given potential: talents, abilities, and capabilities. Some have more than others. But we all have a duty to optimize that potential.

I’m just happy to be spending the week in a place that facilitates that.